Dinner and later-getting through the rest of the day

Songbird61377

During the first several hours during the day my eating habits are in great shape, things begin to get tricky in the late afternoon and continue into the late evening (4pm-night). I realize this time of the day is difficult for many folks, that's when healthy habits seem to go astray way too often. I pinpointed some reasons: everyone is tired, dinner is not cooking fast enough, kids fighting, so generally stress is the factor.
So my idea was to share some possible solutions to tackle this issues. For me dinner and later has been seriously sabotaging my weight goals in the last several months. I would love to hear from anyone! If you found your golden ticket to this issue, please share!

Lizzy622

Slow cooker recipes is one way. I also like having things chopped and ready to go as well as sometimes precooking things that take a long time. Chili, stews and soups all do well reheated so you can make them the night before and just reheat.

ewhip17

Not sure if this addresses your question but I'll give it a shot.
So.... I very purposely save calories for the evening for this very reason. But, for me, this process starts early in the day. I try to eat something around 1030 so that I can eat a reasonably sized lunch and still be satisfied. Then I try to eat something around 330 for the same reason - so that I can keep my dinner to a reasonable size and feel satisfied. If I manage to do those things I then have calories left over for that period between dinner and bed and honestly I use those calories on anything I want that will fit.
I used this method when I was actively trying to lose and I do it now while I'm trying to maintain my weight. Same process just different caloric limits. It works for me but it took me a long time to really hone in on the process and timing as well as the kinds of foods that worked best for those meals. Learning those things about myself was a huge part of my weight loss success.
Good luck!

sakuradreamer

I do the same thing! I don't get many calories in my day (1200), so I try to get as much exercise in that I can and then have 200-300 calories saved for my post-dinner munchies. Couldn't live without them!

zyxst

I save calories for the evening. I know I'm going to eat, so may as well make it fit in my day.

Songbird61377

sounds great guys, I also agree that it takes time to fine tune the new habits.

Songbird61377

It's interesting to see that everyone saves their calories, I used to do that as well, I had the motivation, but something happens in the late afternoon when my resolve dissolves, I have to find that reset button in me, it's been very frustrating roller coaster for me, but reading your replies gives me hope, so thanks for sharing!

Leanbean65

I try to get out of the house for an after dinner walk or get away from the kitchen and read. For me after dinner eating has to do with being too close to the food!

Wiseandcurious

For me it helps of I find what type of snack to eat in the afternoon to keep me satisfied and happy until dinner, not just how many calories to allocate to it. E.g. if I have a couple of oatmeal cookies at 3-4h for 140 cals I will be still hungry 15 min later, but if I have a serving of 175g yogurt with a half scoop of protein powder, it will keep me satiated for 2-3 hours after that and it's still 150 cals. That way I can go into dinner with a calm and focused mind and make actual choices as opposed to scraping up the first thing I can for dinner and gulping it down ravenously.

That, and pre-logging the dinner, which helps with preparation too because I know what I will need, if I have it at home and how long it will take to cook.